Life is No Walk In The Park
by CelestialDragon423
Summary: AU First story yay!  Rin decides to take her puppy Fluffy out for a walk one summer day.  Little does she know that it will become an adventure for Fluffy, and a new encouter for her and an artist.  Please beware of slight erorrs.
1. Puppy Woes

_AN:__This is practice for my stories it is horrible and unedited so please just think of it as a nuisance. For now please be patient until I post my first actual story. This story is AU._ _This story is dedicated to my cat Leo who died recently of infection and I miss him a lot. _

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN InuYasha, or Groove Coverage, or Walkman! I'm not making money off of this.

**Life is No Walk In The Park**

It was a hot sweaty day in Tokyo's dog walking park and no canine or human was spared from the intense heat. Rin Omeiya was one of those unlucky people as she led her new puppy, Fluffy, around listening to her Walkman trying to ignore the heat as best she could. It was a Saturday so everyone was out and about for one reason or another. She sighed as God is a Girl came on and she decided to sit down under a tree in the shade to give her and Fluffy a break. As she sat down she sighed in relief to feel the sun off her aching back. She hummed along to the words and didn't notice Fluffy getting restless to get back to their walk.

At the same time a slightly older man named Sesshomaru Takahashi was sitting in the grass with a sketch book and a pencil on the other side of the park. He had recently got into another argument with his idiotic _(AN: No offense to InuYasha from me)_ half brother about him getting married soon. His family could be terribly annoying sometimes, and he desperately needed to get away from his family reunion. He was an artist when he had the time and today felt like a good time to indulge in it. After deciding where he would go he dawned his khaki pants and polo shirt, picked up his pad and pencil and left without a word to his family.

Rin had been sitting under the tree for about fifteen minutes now and Fluffy was starting to whine softly going unnoticed by his owner. Finally he decided that if his owner wasn't going to be moving this century he was going to leave in his own adventure. He quickly tugged on his leash and yanked on his collar. Slowly but surely he got out of his bonds and took off running. Rin diffidently noticed when a white streak took off across the green lawn and panicked. She turned off her Walkman and sprinted after the hyper puppy. She called his name in futile hopes that he will come to her or stop, but unluckily he hadn't gone through much training yet. He led her around the whole park dodging all the bigger dogs and owners so he wouldn't be attacked in his freedom. Finally he saw the exit out to the city, and all he had to do was cut across a field. Little did poor little Fluffy know his freedom wouldn't last much longer.

Fluffy was halfway across the field when he heard his owner, Rin's, voice, but yet again he ignored her. Someone else didn't though. Almost at the gate he was oblivious in his happiness to the person sitting in the grass next to it. Just when he thought he was free an arm shot out. He had no sense to stop and completely close lined on the man. _(AN: You know when you close line you hit something in front of you. Like when you ride a bike and there is a branch in front of you so your bike keeps going but you don't? Sorry, shutting up now…)_ He flipped over and fell unconscious eyes spiraling and stars circling his head.

Rin sighed in relief and sweat dropped at how stupid her puppy was, running over to the pair on the ground. Sesshomaru was glancing down at the sleeping puppy uninterestedly and continued sketching the view as Rin hurried over. She took deep breaths to regain her composure after starring at the strange man. She saw he was a demon from his markings, and not an easy one to deal with from the looks of his hard expression. He had long silver hair, was very tall even sitting, and had cold amber eyes that regarded her with something of a blank expression. He looked elegant and regal even in his polo shirt and khakis, which made her feel strange in her black shorts and white tanktop. She plastered a smile on her face and readjusted her white bandanna over her flustered hair saying," Thank you so much Sir! Fluffy can be so rambunctious sometimes and quite a handful. Please forgive me for intruding on you." She gave a short bow out of respect and thanks.

He looked up and took a quick survey of her noting that she wasn't exceptionally beautiful, just normal. Her long dark brown hair was tousled from running while her cheeks were flushed and brown eyes sparkled. Nothing impressive, but there was something about her that was strange to him. Finally he spoke, his cold tone confusing her, saying," You should keep a better eye on your pets. I would hope you would have better sense to leash the mongrel, girl."

Rin flushed in indignation," Excuse me? I did leash him for your information and he is not a mongrel."

"Impressive maybe today's human population might be getting smarter contrary to my belief," he said looking back to his sketch.

"How rude! I thank you for helping me and all I get is an insult in return? I had no idea that demons were such stick in the mud snobs, or I wouldn't have said anything at all," Rin huffed picking up Fluffy.

"And I had no idea girls were so prissy about everything," he said with a slight smirk.

Rin face now flushed in anger and he couldn't help thinking it was cute. Angrily she replied," My name is Rin, not girl, and I think you owe me an apology for being terribly rude."

He sighed standing up and said," Well Rin I think you are going to have to live without that apology. Good day." And with that he walked off. He smirked hearing her growl and stomp off deciding he would have to visit the dog park more often.

_AN: So, What did you think? It's okay for my fist. Please read and review and tell me what you thought. Maybe I will make it into a story instead of a fast one shot. _


	2. A Tramatic Reunion

**Life is no Walk In The Park**

**Chapter 2**

_Hello all my lovely friends! I know that many of you have been waiting for me to continue this story for longer than most of you wish to wait, but I am back in the game. With the help of some other fans I have gotten down a rough sketch of what the plot will look like before I continued. Keep in mind I am writing another story that I am slightly more inclined to at the moment so this story sort of takes a back seat. It will be relatively short as one of the first stories with more than one chapter. This is to satisfy all the hungry people waiting for me to finish it so I can get on with Candy Fit For a Demon Lord. Thanks for baring with me and being patient. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. All rights go to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own Walkman either. Also a portion of the plot belongs to a lovely lady named Misfit band geek who helped me get inspired and revved up for writing. Thanks again! _

Sess sighed deeply as he sipped his tea. He was sitting outside in the local dog park. He had first come here to sketch a few days ago, and he thought that was that and he probably wouldn't come back here. He had work to do and a job to run. He no longer had time to go around and relax, and it was already bad enough that he would probably have to take a weeks worth of time off of work for his brothers upcoming wedding. Then he had to come here, and call in late to work. His mind and body had been nagging him to come back for one reason or another. He would just get these urges to be there, so today, when they became unbearable, he had no choice but to act. He couldn't put his finger on it. No one had any idea how much that infuriated him.

He continued sipping his tea and decided to look at the newspaper from earlier that morning. The incessant nagging had dulled, but it was still there. He was here wasn't he? Why wouldn't these feelings leave him be now that he had fulfilled their desire? He hated the fact that he had no control over his own emotions. It made him feel slightly helpless. Sesshomaru Takahashi was not helpless, he growled to himself. He looked around, thoroughly in a sour mood. He caught a slightly familiar scent catch on the early morning breeze. He temporarily felt disoriented. It was such and odd feeling, like being slapped in the face. Looking in the direction of the scent he was greeted with a familiar sight.

The young girl from the other day was strolling down the path leading the rouge, dimwitted puppy. She was wearing khaki pants with a plain navy shirt and bandanna. It was odd for him to see her coming from the old apartment complex that was next to the dog park. For some bizarre reason when he had met her the other day, he had the feeling that she lived with her husband in some suburb a little outside the town. He just had the feeling that she would be the type of girl to be settled down by now. Not that he had thought about the rude girl from the other day. Not at all.

He continued to pretend to read the paper while watching from the corner of his eye. As she approached she didn't seem to recognize him at all. On one hand this was probably for the best considering how they had argued on their first meeting, but in a teeny, tiny part of his brain he wanted her to stop and say, "Hey you are that stuck-up jerk from the other day!" He promptly squashed that stray thought relishing it writhing in agony. While he was in his dream world torturing and watching stray thoughts suffer, he had yet to notice the small commotion.

Rin decided to walk Fluffy this morning before work, feeling completely content listening to her Walkman and enjoying the early morning sun. To everyone's great displeasure she was a morning person. She felt oddly relaxed for one reason or another and she had the feeling today was going to be a great day. She had no idea how wrong she was going to be in so many ways.

She had been in the park for barely four minutes when Fluffy started yanking on the leash and barking incessantly. It was terribly odd that Fluffy would do this because he usually only reacted this way to people he knew. She had trained him herself so that he would be a good walker and never bark at random people. She allowed him to become rowdy only around friends, so she couldn't imagine what would have him so riled up. She turned off her Walkman and allowed Fluffy to drag her to whatever was so exciting to him before carting him off to finish the walk before she left for work.

As soon as Rin gave Fluffy some slack he took off to a nearby bench where a man was sitting reading the paper. Fluffy ran up to the man and desperately tried to get up on the bench, when he was only able to get his paws trying to scramble up. He tried again backing up and lunging as fast as he could, but overestimated the length of his jump. He slammed his head into the back rest. Rin wasn't even able to save him from a concussion when he was on a leash.

"Fluffy!" Rin moaned as she quickly approached the bench. "Sorry, sir I don't know what got into…him," she trailed off the rest of the sentence recognizing the man from the other day.

"Didn't I tell you to put that mutt on a leash? If this becomes a repeat offense I may have to report you," he said coolly without a trace of emotion on his face.

"Look, you jerk I have him on a leash and I was apologizing! It's not like he would have harmed you anyway. He is a calm and obedient puppy who, at worst, would probably lick you. As long as nobody threatens me he is the most harmless and docile creature to walk the earth," Rin stated fuming.

"Yes docile and stupid," he murmured as he picked up the puppy and inspected it. He raised an eyebrow at how out cold it was, as the body dangled down from where he held it under it's front paws. The tongue ladled out as if thoroughly enjoying his inspection from the strange man.

Rin growled, "Fluffy is not stupid! He never acts this way around anyone else. Maybe it is your stupidity rubbing off on him every time he is around you." Rin promptly snatched Fluffy back, and cradled the sleeping puppy in her arms. "You still owe me that apology from the other day you know," she huffed.

"You will still have to wait for that then," he said monotonously.

Rin looked at the demon. She squinted and cocked her head to the side resembling the puppy she held in her arms. "What is your name?" She asked suddenly and he felt somewhat taken aback. For some odd reason he felt compelled to answer.

"Sesshomaru Takahashi," he said narrowing his eyes. She didn't seem familiar so he had no idea why she would be interested in his name. Her eyes widened to the shape of plates, and she stuttered briefly.

As hastily as possible she spoke, "Well Mr. Takahashi, it was a lovely experience talking to you today, but I am afraid I am a terribly busy woman. Things to do and what not. I guess this didn't exactly go well, but water under the bridge, eh?" She chuckled nervously. "Anyway I best get going, thanks for the interesting, ugh… conversation. We will have to do it again sometime. Bye!" And with that she hightailed it out of the park.

Sesshomaru was in such a daze at her fast retreat that he didn't notice anything for a couple of minutes. As soon as he was back in the real world he whipped out his cell phone. Quickly speed dialing his office he waited for his secretary to pick up the line.

"Takahashi Law, how can I help you?" Came the voice of his overly perky secretary.

"Senpai. Inform my father that I will not be in today. I am taking a personal day, but I want all my files to be taken to my father so they can be transported to my office at home," he stated clearly. He hung up before the lady even had a chance to respond.

"This girl, Rin, tries my patience. No one runs from this Sesshomaru. No one," he growled under his breath. "We will see who our mystery friend is, now won't we?" With that, he hid outside her apartment, waiting for her to come out, and he could resume being the predator stalking his prey. He would make sure that Rin's life would never be the same again, for insulting him.

_AN: Well that was chapter two of the long awaited Life is no Walk In the Park! I know that everyone was waiting for this forever, and please let me apologize. I feel bad. I promise the story will continue on and that I will not ditch it like so many other people, it just might take a little while for me to update. I know you are all burning with questions like why did Rin leave and such, but that will just have to be left for the next chapter won't it? Yet again I apologize for leaving you hanging after such a long time. Thanks to all the people who reviewed the last few chapters and have given me support so far! _


	3. Fluffy Ninjas

Life is No Walk in the park

Chapter 3-

Fluffy Ninjas

_An: Uhhh… Hi everyone! Now I know that everyone is probably not very happy with me right now considering the last time I updated was god only knows how long ago. I beg forgiveness in every way possible. The chapters will be coming faster… I hope. I think that as long as I keep on track I should turn out these and CFFADL chapters faster. _

_Disclaimer: Dishonor on me, but I don't own InuYasha, It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. _

* * *

'_Why is she taking so long?'_ I thought sullenly to myself. It had been almost twenty minutes since I had seen Rin, and if I kept hiding behind these bushes for much longer I think I might rip them apart for continuing to touch my person. Finally, the doors opened. I had to be on my toes though because she was running full tilt down the street. Fluffy was no where to be seen, so I assumed she was going to work now.

Knowing I would probably be arrested or caught if I followed right behind her, I decided a little building jumping would have to be my option for today. I followed at a steady pace, making sure that I was going fast enough not to be seen or heard, but slow enough that I wouldn't over shoot her destination, wherever that might be…

About, what seemed like, five minutes later, we arrived outside a small one-story building that was set back from the sidewalk so it could have a gate around it. The girl ran in, and promptly shut the door. No one would have noticed it, if it weren't for the fact that it was bright yellow with a blood red awning and tons of plants and trees. There was a wooden sign outside the gate that had an orange paw print on top of a lotus blossom on it, and announced in big red letters that it was the Kusakabe animal shelter.

'She works at an animal shelter, hmm? How appropriate,' I thought mildly. Looking around, I could see that they took very good care of the place. All the plants were well kept, as well as the building and fences, and the area for kenneling, was indoors. From my place in the tree that shadowed the building, I could see that the area was divided in half. The tall stone wall encased the building cheerily, and then a fence ran from the wall to the building on each side. None of the animals would be able to get away, so the workers could just let the dogs and other animals run free in the back.

Through one of the open windows on my side, I could see a woman in what looked to be her mid forties or fifties, shifting through piles of paper work. Something didn't seem right about one of the papers sitting on her desk, but I shrugged it off when the girl came panting through the door.

"Good morning Kusakabe-san," she chirped. I cringed at the girl's perpetual cheeriness.

The woman sighed, "Good morning to you too Rin. Five minutes early as usual, I see."

Rin smiled, "I have my watch set five minutes fast for a reason. I'm not on time unless I'm early. Especially here, where I'm needed. If you don't mind, I'm going to dismiss myself, put my things in my office, and get on with my rounds."

"Rin, wait. I have some news for you, so once you put your things away, I want you to come and sit down. It's very important," For the first time ever, I saw a true frown flit over Rin's features, and she nodded.

She left the office, and I was about to jump to the other side of the building, when the window right next to 'Kusakabe-san's' opened. What was apparently Rin's 'office' was really one of the meeting rooms where families looked at potential pets. The only difference form the other three, that I could see, was that she had a giant writing desk that had a closing lid on it and a desk chair with the other chairs. When she opened the lid, I was stunned to see the biggest array of color pens ever. It felt like it was blinding me by all the vibrant colors.

She placed her paw print backpack on her desk chair, and walked back to her boss' office. I could see that she was stiff and worried, and it was so out of place on this Rin girl. Somehow, I could tell, despite the fact I didn't know her.

"Let's start Rin," Mrs. Kusakabe started, "So far, our shelter has been doing great. No expense is over looked for the animals, and you and all the other staff take great care of the creatures."

Rin smiled again, "That is always the same isn't it Kusakabe-san? I don't know how that is new news."

"Rin-san, I'm just going to come out and say it. In three weeks, everyone here, including me, is going to be out of a job. They raised the lease amount on the building, and there is no way we can afford it."

Rin sat in stunned silence for a few minutes, "What? They can't do that. What about all the animals, and the fact we are a non-profit organization? They can't expect us to pay some ridiculous sum. The building lives off of donations and adoption fees."

The older woman sighed, "I know it's not fair, Rin, but I don't have any choice in the matter. The man said, whether or not we are a nonprofit, we have to pay. We can hold fundraisers all we like, but nothing will be enough to save the shelter."

"I'll give you all my salary! For every month, even for the rest of the year, if it means we can save this place. What would we do for the animals," Rin cried out.

"The collector said he would send a van here," the woman said softly, "He said he would have the animals humanely euthanized. Apparently, none of the other shelters have enough room for the amount of animals we have. Even if we separated them out each to a different shelter, they wouldn't be able to house them all. Somehow, in the past seven years, our little shelter has become one of the biggest in the city. It was a good run, for what it's worth."

Rin had tears pouring down her face, "I'm not letting those monsters put down any of the animals! Not in a million years. Don't worry Kusakabe-san, I will find a way to get the money, don't worry."

Rin walked out the office, and towards the other end of the building. I saw that this was the kennel side, and from a sky light on top of the building, I could see all the pens. There seemed to be thousands of dogs, cats, birds, and other rodents, all in this area. In all my life, I don't think I've ever seen so many animals in one place. As soon as Rin walked into the room, I could hear it burst to life with dog barks, cat meows, and bird squawks. She apparently was popular.

"Alright everyone, time for some stretches," she called out brightly, with no trace of sadness from earlier. She quickly opened select dog cages and brought them outside to a large pen that had a green gate, closing the gate behind them as they ran around and played. Then, she went back inside, and opened the other cages and led those dogs to a different blue pen. I was curious as to why she wasn't just putting them in the same cage when one of the dogs she had yet to put in the pen walked over to the green pen. Two of the dogs started snapping at each other through the bars, and if it weren't for the wire, there would be a serious dog fight going on.

"KAI! Bad dog, leave Kaito alone! Come here," Rin shouted as she ran over to the dogs. Kai, barely even looked at her, as he continued to try to claw through the gate to get to Kaito. She, grabbed him by his yellow bandana, and yanked him over to his own pen. In the back of my mind, I realized she had a large problem on her hands because getting in the middle of a dog fight was asking for trouble.

The dog, Kai, continued to try and get back to the other fence, and then decided to get rid of the thing that was obstructing him first. Before the dog could even get one lick in, Rin had wacked him over the snout, and he lowered himself to the ground.

"Kai, you naughty boy! I told you to stop growling. Now get in there, and behave," with that, she shoved him in the pen with the rest of the dogs.

Rin sighed and turned back to another outdoor section. I saw, what looked to be outdoor showers with low heads, and I guessed that was the groomers area. Then five people popped their heads out the door.

A young black haired woman spoke first, "Hey Rin! I'm going to bring the cats out for a run in the little red pen, K? Shippo is going to take to cleaning the dog cages while everyone's out, Lieta and Haku are going to do the birds and rodents, and Fai is going to take care of the cat cages and bedding. Sound good?"

Rin grinned and nodded, "Sounds fantastic Souten, but who is manning the counter?"

'Souten' responded, "Don't worry, Ainsel has got that duty. Are you washing the dogs?"

"Yep, today everything needs a good hose down."

"Ok, we're getting to work then."

I looked down at the pen below me, and saw that some of it was hidden behind a wall. Somewhat curious, I knew that I would have to be down in the pen to see, and I would then have to blow my cover. There was no way I could go down there as a human, but, I had an idea. Jumping from the tree, I transformed into a smaller version of my dog form. Even when at my smallest, I was still the size of a Great Dane, and formidable.

As I was just about to walk to the wall, Rin entered the pen without me noticing.

"What do we have here? I don't know you," she said as she grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and turned me around.

"Hmm… how did you get in here buddy? There is no way you are the shelters when you're that grungy. Oh well, I'll bathe you, and take you in to the boss. If you pass inspection we can put you in a pen and see if we can find your owners or a new home for you," she muttered, inspecting me. I was slightly insulted that she called me grungy, but it was slightly true. The last time I was in my dog form, I had been running in some muddy area, so my fur was dirt splattered, and I never bothered to have someone brush or cut the unruly hair. It was too weird a request for anyone.

'This isn't good,' I thought. 'I can't transform back because she will call the police, but I can't stay this way, because they will put me in a kennel. I need to find a distraction.'

I was about to act on my decision, when she put a collar around my neck, "There we go," she muttered, "Now, we just need to hook this leash up to the shower, and we're ready to get you clean!" NO! Too late, I was already being drenched by water from the faucet, and it wasn't very warm. She took a bottle off a nearby table, and started to pool it in her hand. I squirmed and tried to back away, but she put an arm around my middle, and started lathering me. Deep down, I had to admit, it felt nice to be getting clean, but the thought of by who made me cringe. In my thoughts, I didn't notice her getting to personal.

I yowled undignifiedly when she grabbed something in a very inappropriate place.

"Whoa there boy. Well, I guess I know that you're male now. That's the next thing we are going to need to do with you. We have all our animals' neutered and spayed. Though, you might be too old to have it done. Still, we can't have you getting one of the females for breeders' pregnant now can we," she said laughing. Ok, now I really had to get out of here. There was no way I was getting clipped.

Once she finished with the washing, it was time to get my hair trimmed. In every corner of my mind, I thanked kami that the hair cut wouldn't affect my human form. There is no way I would walk out in public with cropped hair, done by anything short of a professional. And eying the way that girl handled scissors, she was anything but trained in the art. Luckily, as a far cry from her regular hair cutting skills, she was very handy for dog grooming. All the hair around my midriff and neck was cut to a manageable, and attractive, level, and all the excess hair around my head and feet was sheered off. As a finishing touch for the girl, she put a white bandana with red paw prints around my neck to identify me.

Rin smiled proudly at her work, "There, now you look like a dog worthy of the emperor. Let's just get you inside so we can have you evaluated."

Now was my chance. Rin took her hands off me for a second to open the door, and I was gone in the opposite direction in a flash. As soon as I rounded the corner, I jumped back into the tree, and transformed into my regular form. Agitated, I ripped the bandana from my neck and stuffed it in my pocket, watching as she came to the gate, looking for my presence. After a couple of minutes of looking, she sighed and got back to the pen, to work with the other dogs.

I watched her take care of the dogs and cats, and I could see that she loved animals. She was always gentle, even when the creature may not reciprocate those actions. But most of the animals seemed to know her very well, and loved her as much as she loved them. She did seem particular to dogs though. There was something about the way she would nuzzle their noses together that screamed obsession. That made me a little nervous.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and what looked to be a pile of living cushions walked out the door. The boy from earlier, named Shippo, dropped them on the ground, and started stringing the dog beds across a clothes line. He then put on a face covering, and was about to pick up a tennis racket, when Rin called out to him. He jogged over to the showers, where she was washing a corgi with soap.

"What's up Rin? How's the old fluffster doing," Shippo chuckled.

Rin smiled, "Fluffy is doing great. I've been continuing on his training, and so far, no accidents in the house yet! I'm sure that he misses this place though. Kami knows that dog is a social one."

Shippo smiled, "Yeah, social and a dimwit. When he was here, if he got excited, he would nearly piddle himself and run into walls, if I recall correctly."

"I'm working on it," Rin groaned, "I know he isn't the brightest animal ever, but does everyone have to rub it in? People I don't even know stop to tell me that the dog is an idiot. He's my idiot though! I mean, this guy keeps going out of his way to show, not just tell, but show me that he's a moron when he gets too excited. It's going to be a nightmare when I have to go to Kagome and InuYasha's wedding because the guy is InuYasha's brother! Why me?"

"Whoa, Rin, slow down there. Some guy is harassing you?"

Rin's mouth snapped shut, "No, the guy isn't exactly harassing me. He's just making fun of my dog when he sees us. But anyway, that's not the point I wanted to talk to you. Did Kusakabe-san tell you about the shelter this morning?"

Shippo's face fell, and he started to beat the cushions when Rin stepped back, "Yes, she told us. Heaven help us to get that money, because according to what she said, we owe them something like 70,000,000 yen. Even if everyone working here gave up their whole year's salary, it wouldn't be enough to save the place."

"I feel so helpless. There really isn't any hope for the shelter, is there?"

Shippo stopped beating the stuffing out of the cushions, and went and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she started crying, "It's okay Rin. We'll try and get as many animals adopted as possible. There's no way we're going to let them euthanize all our buddies. Don't cry, okay?" She nodded, wiped her tears, and walked away to let him get back to work.

* * *

I watched Rin for the rest of the day, and into what seemed to be, past her working hours. Shippo and Souten had to come outside and tell her to leave. Everyone else had long since left. She just didn't seem to be herself after she realized the situation was hopeless. There was something that stirred in me at the thought of her not being happy, bubbly, and ferocious.

Once the shelter was locked up, and Rin was heading home, I decided it was time for me to leave too. I had lots to do this evening, and none of it could wait if I wanted to be timely. Work comes before anything else after all…


End file.
